For ten days after surgery, do not sniffle or blow your nose. Minimize smiling, touching, or bumping your nose for two weeks. If you have to sneeze, try to stifle it through your nose. No wearing glasses for four weeks. Bending or lifting can prolong swelling, so this is not recommended for three weeks after surgery. Running, cycling, exercise or aerobics should not resume for three weeks. Contact sports should be avoided for six weeks, as it takes that long for the bones to fully heal. You may drive when the swelling subsides enough not to interfere with vision, and you may fly two to three weeks after surgery. Sleep only on your back, because sleeping on your side can push healing structures out of shape.

The amount of time it takes to recover after rhinoplasty will vary from patient to patient. You'll likely want to remain in bed for the first day after surgery, but most patients find that they're up and about within a day or two. Though swelling and bruising can remain visible for three weeks or more, patients are typically able to return to work or school within a week's time. Sun exposure and any strenuous activity risking injury to the nose will need to be avoided for two to three weeks.

Rhinoplasty is generally considered a safe procedure, though every surgical procedure does carry some risk of complication. These risks may include adverse reactions to anesthesia, infection, nosebleeds, numbness of the skin, small bursting of blood vessels on the surface of the skin, assymetry, and other possible complications.

Rhinoplasty requires that incisions be made in the skin which will result in scars. With closed rhinoplasty procedures, however, the incisions are confined to the inside of the nose, thus resulting in no visible scarring. With open rhinoplasty, a small incision is made on the columella, or on the underside of the skin between the nostrils. This results in a small, fine-line scar that is well-concealed and barely noticeable in time.

Open rhinoplasty and closed rhinoplasty are the two types of rhinoplasty procedures available. Open rhinoplasty is used to achieve great symmetry when doing tip work, while closed rhinoplasty is generally done for hump reduction. Closed rhinoplasty involves incisions which are confined to the inside of the nose. Though this results in no visible scarring, the procedure offers less visibility of the inside of the nose and is typically not possible for more complex cases. With open rhinoplasty, a small incision is made on the columella, or the underside of the nose between the nostrils. This will result in a well-concealed, fine-line scar that fades with time. Because open rhinoplasty provides a better view of and easier access to the inside of the nose, it is often preferred, particularly with complex cases.

Discoloration around the eyes does typically occur after surgery. The degree of this discoloration and the amount of time required for it to fade will vary from patient to patient. You can generally expect some amount of discoloration around the eyes for about seven to ten days, though in some patients this can last up to three weeks.

You should not drive yourself home after your rhinoplasty procedure but should have someone drive you instead.

The sutures are typically removed within a week after rhinoplasty surgery

Glasses can be worn while the splint is in place. After that, care must be taken when wearing your glasses to keep them from resting on your nose. Supports or stilts can be used on the lower portion of the glasses to keep them off of the nose. It's generally advised that glasses not be worn directly on the nose for six to eight weeks after the procedure.

If rhinoplasty is performed on a child who is still growing, the nose will continue to grow and can negatively impact the results of surgery. As such, it's typically recommended that rhinoplasty should be performed on children only after they have stopped growing. With adults, the nose does tend to elongate during the middle years and the tip may droop in the later years

There are a variety of materials that can be used for grafts. In most cases, however, the patient's own cartilage is used, either from the inside of the nose, the ear or, less commonly, the rib.